USA and Texas – Houston, we have a problem!

It’s one of those phrases from the movie “Apollo 13”, that everyone knows . Even though, the movie story was made more dramatic by editing the original phase “Houston, we’ve had a problem here”, the true is that the real action was strongly connected to Houston in Texas. Here, in the NASA Space Center the controllers were watching the most important moments in American space history.

The Center is open for the public, with many exhibitions and displays. You can learn there a lot about the space exploration, NASA’s work, life and science in the space.

The entrance for Adults costs $23,95 or $20.95 if you buy your tickets online.

Did you know that there are special systems in the space stations to recycle water from the urine and gathers humidity from the air (often generated by sweat)? And yeah, the above is the toilet. Quite small one 😉

The food needs to be specially created and processed for consumption in space. Salt and pepper need to be in fluids, in order to not to float around the cabin. The most popular activity in space is just simply observe Earth through the window (ehh). But astronauts also play games or different instruments, exercise a lot and connect with their families on Earth.

A must-do during the visit to the Space Center is a Tram Tour. It gives you a chance to take a glimpse into the Johnson Space Center and see the real work of the Mission Control, where human space missions are monitored, and the training center, where the astronauts prepare.

There are two options for the Tram Tour – the Blue one which covers controlling center, and Red one – with training part. We went to the Red tour and we really enjoyed it, but the Blue one seems to be also quite interesting – especially if you are there at the moment, when the controllers are connecting with the space!

Both of the trams go into the Rocket Park and the big hangar with Saturn V displayed there – it’s huuuuge! However – be prepared for waiting in the queue for some time, because trams only go at the specific times (you can check them on the display monitors). Everything is included in the entrance ticket.

During the tram trip you can also spot cute Texas cows and some deers, that seem to like the Space Center grass!

In the Center you can also find several big screen Theathers, where you can watch different documentaries about space. I can recommend the “Northrop Grumman” Theather, that is the largest giant screen theather in Texas.

After all that sightseeing, if you are hungry – maybe try some astronaut food? 😉

Apart from all the “tourist hassle” there, the Space Center Houston is an interesting place to visit. It will definitely bring you closer to the space!